No Idea
by Emilyia123
Summary: Back in L.A., I didn't have much hope for my social life. I mean, I had friends, but they were just... you know? But when I moved here, and met all of these people, I felt like I finally found my home. I have had a rough past with my mother's death. I didn't know that anyone could possibly ever have the same story as me!
1. Caught By Surprise

CH. 1 Caught By Surprise

(GABRIELLA'S p.o.v.)

I was in the car with my dad, Marco Montez, driving to the destination of Albuquerque, New Mexico, also known as my permanent home for the rest of me and my dad's lives. I'm Gabriella Montez, a girl who grew up in the clean part of L.A. I just turned 16 on July 10th. It is now August 4th, and me and my dad are moving because of his job.

I was listening to the song, _Two Is Better Than One, _by Boys Like Girls, and I think Taylor Swift is also featured in it too. Anyway, I was playing with my semi-curly hair because it was so soft, as my dad pulled into a driveway with a three story, light brown house, and a huge backyard. Yes, we're kind of rich, but we don't use it and I'm not spoiled. My dad turned to me with a huge smile as I took out my ear buds. He said, "We're here Gabi!"

As I entered the house, I realized I never saw the outside. We now live on a flat street in the outcast suburbs, but from the front, it looks like two stories. From the backyard, its three. The first story is just hidden because of the hilly backyard. I was free to explore the house, which I think should be called a mansion, since only two people are living here.

I walked through the door to see hallways, and a huge clear window in the dining room, with a view of the backyard. The second story, you may say, is the main part of the house. It has an office, kitchen, dining room, nook, bathroom, garage, and a living/family room, yes there is a difference. I walked upstairs and found my room. It was at the end of the hallway. The walls weren't painted yet, and there were no curtains, but we'll deal with that later. I have my own bathroom. It's painted and has a bath/shower. Oh! I have my own vanity chair thing in here. I left my room to go look for my dad. I checked his room. No. I went to the first story (which can't be seen from the front of the house) to find it lit naturally like the rest of the house. It had a bathroom and a game room. That kind of made me sad. Why did he think I would make friends so easily? I'm usually shy when it comes to new people. But here, there's just something about the Albuquerque air, that feels different. A good different.

When I walked outside, I was shocked! There was a pool, golfing green, trampoline, and a big patch of grass that could be used for anything. When I got out of my shock, I saw that my dad was with a blonde man, playing golf on the green. I walked up to him.

"Hey Daddy!"

He turned to me and said, "Hey Pumpkin! How do you like our new house?"

I replied simply with, "I love it!" I've never really been excited to move until now. It felt fresh to move here.

Dad said, "Gabriella, meet our neighbor, John. John, this is my daughter Gabriella." I shook his hand and said hi.

He asked me, "Are you sixteen?" I nodded, also being cautious. "Great! I have a sixteen year old daughter named Sharpay. Would you like to meet her?" I gulped. I don't really have friends because even though I'm not spoiled, people try to use me. The next thing I knew, John went through the gate to his backyard, mumbled something, and came back.

Before he could come back, Dad said to me, "He's my partner for the new job. We're also neighbors." John walked over to us with a blonde girl wearing tight, ripped blue jeans, and a pink tiger tank top. Her makeup was natural. I'm sorry to say this, but I thought she would be snotty. She looks like she would be a good friend for me. _Nice going Dad, _I mentally giggled.

John said, "Marco, Gabriella, this is my daughter, Sharpay." He did the vise versa thing to introduce to people.

Sharpay looked happy and said, "Hi, it's nice to meet you, Gabriella. Do you want to hang out?" I smiled and nodded. We said bye to our dads and went over to the trampoline. Sharpay said, "So, we should get to know each other," she smiled, "Let's play 20 Questions!"

I giggled, but stopped when I realized that I haven't spoken yet. What if she thought I was mute? Oh no! "Well, I guess I should tell you, I just moved here today, my name is Gabriella Montez, and I like learning and fashion.

She replied, "I can tell you like fashion. Your outfit is to die for! Plus, I love fashion too, and designing in general."

"Thanks! I like your outfit too," an idea popped into my head, "Hey, would you mind helping me design my room?" Sharpay's eyes went wide, like a puppy's or a five-year old's on Christmas morning. It amused me.

She hugged me tightly and said, "O.M.G. I would love to! This would show my dad that Interior Design is my calling!"

We ran up to my room, filled with giggles. Sharpay opened the door and screamed with joy. "I know exactly what you want. Let me look at you!" She looked at my confused face, then at my hands. I saw her eyeing my mother's ring she gave me when I was seven. That's another story. She let go of my hands and said, "You want to paint your walls, get curtains, and design your furniture, and then pick where it goes.

I laughed while saying, "Duh!"

She continued, "Yeah, but I know exactly what _you_ want," she said emphasizing on you, "You want to paint your walls teal, like your ring, and then you want white edges, so it doesn't look too dark."

I was surprised. "How did you know that just by looking at me?!" I exclaimed.

She replied simply with, "I have a gift, but it's nothing like reading minds. I assure you. Now let's go!"

I didn't have my car yet, so we took Sharpay's black SUV, with tan leather seats. I like it because it isn't big and bulky. We arrived at Home Depot and got a cart. She knew exactly where she was going. We stopped in front of the cards with the colors, shaped like Mickey Mouse. When I saw them, I giggled. She instantly found the teal color we were looking for, and I grabbed a light periwinkle card because it was the same color as my bathroom. We got the paint cans. Sharpay asked, "Anything else you need? Like wall designs?"

I replied with, "Actually, I wanted to get some walls designs and picture frames."

We got back in the car and said, "Then we'll have to go to JCPenny."

I was curious because this was my first day in Albuquerque, so I asked, "Where's the closest mall?"

We pulled out of the parking lot and she said, "It's 15 minutes away from your house, if that's what you're wondering."

We got to the mall that had all of my favorite stores including JCPenny. We went to the section with what I needed. We got long white curtains with faint sparkles, and little pieces of mirrors to put on the walls, plus cute picture frames. But what Sharpay doesn't know is that I don't have that many pictures to put in it.

We went back to my house and painted the walls, and put up the mirrors. "So tell me about your life in L.A? Any boyfriends?"

I replied, "Umm, no. I'm not really allowed to date."

Sharpay looked confused, "Really? Because it looks like your dad would let you."

I sighed and answered truthfully, "Yeah. He does, but I don't really want to date unless the guy is a real person." Sharpay nodded, still confused, so I continued, "You see, back in L.A., everybody tried to use me. I hated it. That was one of the reasons I moved here, and why I think we'll be good friends."

Sharpay nodded and said, "I don't think we'll be good friends. I _know_ we'll be best friends!" She paused, then gasped, "OMG! You should meet my friends, and boyfriend!"

I interrupted her, also feeling nervous, "Tell me about them."

She smiled and continued, "Our whole group have been best friends since the first day of freshmen year. My boyfriend is Zeke Baylor. We've been together since the beginning of sophomore year. Then, there are his friends Chad Danforth and Troy Bolton. Troy is probably the most genuine person I know besides Zeke. Chad has a huge afro and is really funny. He also has a girlfriend, Taylor Mckessie. She is really smart. I think you'll get along with everyone just fine."

So I said to clarify, "So there is you, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, and Troy? And you and Zeke are together, as well as Chad and Taylor? What about Troy? It seems like he would be a fifth wheel."

Sharpay came to realization and said, "No! We don't do that. You know, like going into individual groups within the group? It's always the five of us together. There are some times when the couples are alone, though. And I want you to meet them!"

Something popped into my head, "Sharpay? What school does everyone go to?"

She answered, "Oh! Everyone of us goes to East High."

Me and Sharpay finally finished my room, but then Sharpay noticed something, "So you don't have many pictures because they weren't your real friends?" I nodded. She continued, "Well all of that is going to change. Get your camera!" We took all kinds of pictures: silly, weird, everything. There was one picture that really stood out to me. It was a picture of us laughing, and not posing. I put that picture in a frame and hung it up. "One down, many more to go," Sharpay said and I giggled.

"Let's go meet my friends. They're all coming over to hang out today. It will be perfect!" I instantly got really nervous. We went next door to her house and talked about random stuff for an hour. Then the doorbell rang. "Coming!" Sharpay sang. I heard the door open, mumbling, and then I saw her holding hands with a tall, dark skinned guy. I assumed it was Zeke. Sharpay instantly said, "Zeke, this is my new neighbor and friend, Gabriella Montez." They did the vise versa thing again.

"Hi Zeke, I'm Gabriella." I said with a nervous smile.

"It's nice to meet you Gabriella," he said while shaking my hand.

Ten minutes passed and he was really nice. The bell rang again. Sharpay got up and got the door. It was Chad and Taylor. They were really nice and Taylor likes learning too. Chad is funny, plus his afro bounces. It was like 7 inches tall! Anyway, they were wondering when Troy was going to get there. Two minutes passed and Sharpay got the door. I heard her mumble something, and he answered saying something about playing baseball with his brother. When he came into the room, he said _hey_ or _what's up man _to everybody. Then he saw me.

What he said next surprised me, "Hi, you must be Gabriella."

I nodded and said, "Hi, you must be Troy."

He looked confused, then said, "How do you know my name?"

_I could say the same thing to you, buddy. _I replied, "Well, Sharpay told me who all of her friends were, and everybody was wondering where a Troy was so..." He laughed. I then realized that he had really straight teeth, and piercing light blue eyes that reminded me of the clear sky in the middle of the forest. He sat down and he was still staring at me. I felt like burning under his gaze. I saw Sharpay whisper something to Zeke and he agreed.

Finally, Sharpay said, "Okay, Gabriella, Taylor, let's go upstairs. I need to talk to you." We left to go to her room. I saw one of those egg chairs and wanted to sit and fly in it so bad! Sharpay saw my face, and smirked, "You know you want to sit in it!" I ran to sit on it with a huge grin, and giggled.

Sharpay and Taylor sat right in front of me, looking serious. "I like you," Taylor stated.

"I don't think you're the only one Taylor. I think Troy likes her too." Sharpay said smirking. That caught me off guard. No one has ever liked me for me. We haven't really talked either. "Do you like him?" Sharpay asked.

"Troy? I don't even know him! And how did he know who I was before we were even introduced?" I questioned. My phone started ringing. "Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Gabi, your car is here." My eyes widened and instantly filled to the brim with tears. I jumped up and ran down the stairs. Believe me, I wasn't desperate to see my car like that. I was desperate to see what was inside. Sharpay ran after me, calling me, and asking what was wrong. I didn't want anyone to see my like this!


	2. The Book

Ch. 2 The Book

(Gabriella's P.O.V.)

Troy, Chad, and Zeke saw me running down the stairs, and immediately stood up to see what was wrong. I pushed passed their muscular bodies and ran next door. I opened my car door and got the photos from when I was born, to when I was seven years old. I held onto them for dear life and slid down the side of my car. I silently cried and let the tears cascade down my face.

I heard footsteps coming closer to me. Then someone sat down next to me, and put me in their arms. I didn't know who it was, but I was too upset to shrug them off, whoever it was. Oddly enough, I was really comfortable. All I could tell was that they smelled like cologne, obviously a guy. I knew it wasn't my dad. He was at work. Could it be one of the guys? I felt my tears slowly stopping, making me relax. I wiped my hands on my cheeks to get rid of the wetness. I'm so glad I wore waterproof mascara today. I looked up to see Troy looking down at me intently, but his eyes softened when he saw my face. I hoped he wouldn't say anything to make me upset all over again because I don't want to look like a fool in front of new people.

"Can I see this?" He motioned to my photo album. I nodded and let go as he took it carefully in his hands. I thought that was sweet how he held it with care. He opened it up to see many pictures of me and my mom. "Was this your mom?" It seemed like he understood everything without even knowing.

I nodded to let him know that I was conscious, "I was seven when she..." I gulped.

He said, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to... You know, my mom died of cancer, just after a year of being diagnosed. I was seven."

I looked up at him, "I'm sorry." I said in less than a whisper.

He shook his head and said, "It's not your fault... So, if I may ask, which you don't have to answer, why did you run out of the house, and turn up here upset?"

I answered after taking a deep breath, "My mom died from, I don't know what. I was seven. I have a whole album filled with every picture I have of her and me. I had to leave it in my car when we moved here this morning. My dad just called to tell me that it was here. I'm sorry if I overreacted or something. It's just so important to me."

Troy nodded, "I understand why you did that."

I quickly asked, "Do you mind not telling anyone about this?"

He replied, "Of course not!"

I smiled softly and held my pinky up, "Pinky swear?" He chuckled and pinky swore.

He stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and stood up, "Well, I guess I should finish unpacking all of my stuff." I started to walk away, but I realized that he never let go of my hand.

"Hey Brie," Troy started. OMG! He just called me a nickname. I've never heard that before. Wow! I never saw Brie in gaBRIElla.

"Yeah?" I turned around, my hair swinging over my shoulders.

"Do you need any help with unpacking?"

I considered his offer. "Thanks," I said with a shy smile.

We walked into my house and went upstairs to my room. "All I need to do is move my furniture and unpack my stuff."

He smiled down at me, "I can definitely help you with the furniture. Your floor is carpeted, so it should be easy enough." I turned and started pushing my bed, but it wasn't really moving. Then it was easier. I looked to the right and saw Troy smiling as he easily pushed it. Eventually, everything was in place. I just needed to get my clothes, books, and random stuff. I went downstairs to get my books, but it was way too heavy! So, Troy being all strong, picked it up with ease. I got my make up box. After I finished putting my make up away, I found Troy putting my books away neatly, "Anything else?"

"All I have left is clothes and random stuff." He left and came back with the boxes.

"Thanks." I saw him eyeing the stuff in the box. I giggled to myself watching him hopelessly juggling three bean bags. After putting my clothes in my closet, along with my shoes, I plopped down on my unmade bed.

Saying that I was exhausted was an understatement. I giggled and he looked at me, asking, "What? I've never had to move a day in my life!"

I giggled again, "Well, I've moved around a lot and I'm tired too!" I kept giggling, uncontrollably. Troy gave me a questioning look. I rolled my eyes, "Whenever I'm tired, I can't help but act the way I feel besides being tired."

He looked like he got it, then asked, "Then what's so funny?"

I replied simply, "You!"

He gave me a skeptical look, while laughing, "How am I being funny?"

I pointed, "You're on the floor because you're exhausted, just like me!" He started chuckling. "You want to see the game room?" I asked. "Sure."

We went all the way downstairs and sat on slippery chairs. We both slipped right off and busted out laughing. I stopped after a while and Troy looked at me, "What's wrong Brie?" I saw his concerned face.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about something."

He sat up and asked, "What were you thinking about?"

I sat up against the couch and said, "I was wondering what East High is like."

He smiled at me and for some reason, it felt like he did that just for me, "Well I like it. Plus I'm in all of the AP honors classes, and you got me, Sharpay, Zeke, Taylor and Chad there with you."

"Do you want to play a game?" he asked. I nodded and giggled. "Okay," he continued, "It's like 20 Q's accept with as many questions as you want. Wanna play?" he smiled cheekily.

"Sure!"

He started the game, "First what is your favorite color?"

"Light green. Yours?"

"Light blue. Middle name?"

"Anne. You?"

"Alexander. What's your favorite movie?"

I put my finger on my chin and said, "I have a list?" He nodded. "_Bridesmaids, The Last Song, _and anything with Adam Sandler because he's hilarious, like _Grown Ups, Just Go With It, _or_ Jack and Jill_. I love comedies!"

He looked relieved, "Really? Most girls only like those romantic movies-"

I interrupted him, "I said _The Last Song_!"

He chuckled and spoke again, "Yeah, but you mostly like comedies. I like that."

I blushed and asked, "So what are your favorite movies?"

He said, "_Just Go With It_, _Yes Man_, most comedies like you." I nodded, then realized something.

"Hold on," I said, then walked out of the room. "Dad?" I picked up my phone and saw a text from him. I opened it and it said:

"Sorry I had to leave Gabi. I'll be home at 10:30. Go out with Sharpay and her friends, or something. Love, Dad."

I came back in the room to see Troy looking through my dad's video games. "So what do you want to do?" I asked Troy.

He turned around and said, "I don't know. You got _Just Go With It_?" I grinned and got the DVD, put it in the player, and sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in between us. I laughed so hard when the sheep part came on, that I was crying. Eventually, I fell asleep. I was woken up an hour later by Troy, "Gabriella, wake up." I blinked a couple of times before I could see clearly.

"Are you hungry? It seems like you haven't eaten ever since I met you, which was more than seven hours ago."

I nodded, "There should be pizza or something in the freezer."

Troy looked like he wanted to challenge that, "What if I could make you something like spaghetti?"

I woke up more. "Really? How good is it?" I asked interested.

"Better than a restaurant." He made the spaghetti and it was amazing! Plus, he made it just for me! How nice and sweet is that?! "You know, you're the first girl, let alone person, to ever have this."

I smiled shyly, "I'm honored."

"Can I see your phone?" he asked. I was confused, but gave it to him anyway. He pressed some buttons and gave it back to me. It had a conversation with Troy Bolton open and said, "hi" from me, to him. He told me, "Now we have each other's numbers." I felt butterflies in my stomach. That smile. "So, I guess I should get home now," he said.

I couldn't help but get a little sad. "See you later?" I asked.

He replied, "Definitely... Bye Brie."

"Oh that reminds me," I said and he turned around, "Brie?" I asked.

He smiled again and shrugged, "It stood out to me," he paused and looked worried, "Do you not like it? Because I can stop calling you-"

I interrupted him. "Troy, I like it. No one has ever called me that before. It's unique." He smiled and went through the door, out to his car, which was in Sharpay's driveway. I walked up to my room and fell asleep. If only I knew what he was thinking.

I woke up to my dad shaking me. I rubbed my eyes and looked up, "Gabby, your phone keeps ringing. I think you should check it." I groaned an _okay_ and got my phone to see two unread messages. One was from Sharpay and the other was from Troy. I smiled, remembering last night. The one from Sharpay read:

"Hey Gabs! Wanna hang out today with the gang? Troy seems excited ;) I've never seen him like this b4. He keeps asking "_is Brie coming?_" Brie? U have got to tell me what happened last night! P.S. Troy gave me your number bcuz I forgot to get it. Come over! XOXO"

I replied, "Sure I'll come over. That's fine that he gave u my #. I'll be over in 10."

I opened the text I got from Troy. It said: "Hey Brie, u gonna go to Sharpay's today?"

I replied with a smile, "Yeah. B there soon!"

I hopped in the shower and got ready. I don't need that much time to get ready. I just need 10 minutes, at most. I jumped downstairs to see my dad drinking coffee and making a smoothie for me. "Hi Daddy!" I said.

"Hey Princess! What are you going to do today?"

"I'm going over to Sharpay's to hang out with her, Troy, and other friends."

My dad turned to me, "Friends? Friends! My daughter has real friends! Invite them over sometime. I can tell by the look in your eyes that they are genuine."

"Well, I'm going. Bye, bye!"

I walked next door and rang the doorbell. Sharpay opened it and had a devious smile. "What?" I asked her, confused.

"You are so telling me and Taylor about last night, starting with that phone call." I gulped at the mention of that. I was about to open my mouth to talk, when thankfully, Chad came to the door followed by Taylor, Troy, and Zeke. I sighed, relieved. Troy smiled at me and I smiled back strong enough for him not to notice that something was wrong.

"We're going to the park," Chad continued, "We'll carpool. Guys in my car. Girls in Sharpay's. We got in the separate cars and drove to the park. _It's gonna be a long drive_, I thought.

The whole time, I was being shot with questions. Taylor turned and asked me, "So why did you run out yesterday, if you don't mind me asking?" Actually, I do mind. Can't they tell that I don't want to talk about it? I thought my silence was enough.

Sharpay asked while driving, "Well, whatever it was about, Troy obviously stayed with you until, like 10 o'clock last night. I want to know what happened! I think he likes you Gabi."

That's it! I replied with an annoyed tone, "Nothing happened." I felt a bit rude, just blurting that out and all, but ever since they reminded me, I just felt so self-conscious and uncomfortable. We finally got to the park. Hallelujah! I grabbed my phone and keys, and slid them into my jean's pocket. Then I got my water bottle and jumped out of the car. I didn't realize how far the drop was and almost fell. All of a sudden, I felt two muscular arms catch me. I looked up and saw a deep sea of light blue. It was Troy. "Thanks," I whispered with a slight smile. I saw his eyes twitch with something, but I wasn't sure what it was.


	3. The Car Ride

Ch. 3 The Car ride

(Troy's p.o.v.)

I was sitting on one of Sharpay's couches when I heard the doorbell ring. I was about to get up and get it, knowing it was Gabriella, but Sharpay and Taylor stopped me and said, "If you get the door, you'll freak her out!" They went and got the door. Of all people, how would I freak her out if I got the door?

Zeke and Chad spoke at the same time and said, "Dude, you totally like her." I didn't want to admit it to anybody yet, but I didn't deny it either.

I shrugged, "I just met her." That tricked them. What loons. We all got up to go to the park. We carpooled. Girls in Sharpay's car, and guys in Chad's car. I can't lie. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get to talk to Gabriella.

In the car, Chad and Zeke kept on asking me why I never came back to Sharpay's house, or why Gabriella left in such a hurry like that. I kept my promise to her, and didn't tell them what had happened, "Uh, her dad needed help with something before he left to go to work." Nice cover! We arrived at the park, and we walked over to the girls' car, and I ran. I saw Gabriella falling out of the car! I caught her before she fell and broke something. Phew! She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile, and said thanks. Once I saw that weak smile, I knew something was wrong. I have to know what's wrong with my Gabriella! Whoa, whoa, she's not mine... yet. I'll ask her what's wrong later when nobody's around. I can't wait till then! It was then that I realized that I was still holding her. It felt natural, but I had to let her go.

We all walked and sat under a tree. Everybody was just talking about random stuff. I couldn't help but notice that Gabriella was quieter than when we hung out yesterday at her house. I couldn't wait for this to be over with so I could talk to her alone. I couldn't stand seeing her sad. I got my phone out, unnoticed, and texted her.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" She probably felt her phone vibrate because there was no ring.

"Umm ok, hold on," she replied. She stood up and said, "I'm going to go take a little walk." With that, she walked away. A second later, I got a text from her saying: "Ok, we can talk now, but I kind of got lost."

I couldn't help but chuckle, and I replied, "I'll come find you. Don't worry :)"

I found her by the sidewalk and said, "Hey!" She replied with that same smile, but with more happiness. I hope that was because of me. I'm a dork.

She asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

I cleared my throat and said, "Well, I noticed that you looked kind of sad, so I was wondering what was wrong. Was it being around all of us that was making you nervous? Because yesterday after we went to your house, you weren't like that at all."

She took a deep breath, "Well, when Sharpay and Taylor got the door, they instantly asked why I ran out of the house like that," I nodded, "and you know I didn't want to tell them, so I feel bad about being rude to them, by saying nothing. Plus, I remembered how I felt after I got that phone call. And I can't thank you enough," she said smiling up at me. I knew Sharpay was up to something when she insisted that she got the door.

I remembered something, "Oh, and on the way here, Chad and Zeke kept on asking me the same thing," I saw her face drop, "Don't worry. I told them that your dad needed help with something before going back to work."

She smiled up at me and hugged me, while saying, "Thank you."

I smiled and asked, "So you want to hang out later today?"

She pulled away and looked up at me, and said, "Sure!"

We went back to the group in a comfortable silence. They all stood up and Sharpay said, "Me and Zeke are going out. Chad and Taylor are going out too, so let's get going. Me and Zeke will take you and Gabi back, then leave. Chad and Taylor are leaving from here." No objections here! When we were walking back to Sharpay's car, I whispered to Gabi that we should text instead of talk, so she could avoid Sharpay's questions. She smiled and nodded.

I continued our game of 20 Q's, "Here's a question I forgot to ask you yesterday."

"Shoot!"

"What's your favorite candy?"

"I have a list?"

"Indeed. There are too many of everything to just have one. Lay it on me!"

"I like Jolly Ranchers, Skittles, and I hate the grape flavors, and the blue ones, whatever they are. I also like Reece's Pieces."

"No chocolate?"

"Ha-Ha! That's just a stereotype for girls. Every girl, but me. I'm not much of a chocolate girl. I mean, I like it if it's not that much, or in hot chocolate, but only if it has marshmallows."

"Good to know. I don't like much chocolate either. My favorite candies are Kit Kats and Skittles."

"OMG! Kit Kats! I remember those! My grandma used to give me those when I was little! :D"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Sharpay's high voice took me out of my thoughts. "What's so funny? And who are you texting?" Then I got a text from Brie. It said:

"Say 'Pooh Bear is the most interesting poo you'll ever see.' I saw it on Facebook and thought it was funny."

I laughed at that even harder. I said, "Oh, you know Winnie the Pooh?" Sharpay nodded. "Well, it's the most interesting poo you'll ever see." I gave Gabriella a warning look and she giggled. Sharpay rolled her eyes at me through the mirror. I texted Brie back.

"I'm so gonna get you back for that! That sounded better in my head! :("

"Well I'm sorry! I never said it out loud to know!"

When we got back, me and Gabriella jumped out of the car. I saw Sharpay give Brie a look and her face dropped. Sharpay didn't notice. I felt bad. I wish Sharpay would just stop doing that! If Gabriella doesn't want to tell anybody, just let her be. She told me in confidence. I'm happy that she trusted me. I trust her too.

We walked to her house. She opened the door with a plain old key, "I'm gonna decorate it."

I was confused, "Decorate what?"

She answered, "See, I was trying to tell you this earlier. You know in my room, how the walls are blank?"

I replied, "Actually, I didn't notice," we walked into her room, "until now. So what were you saying?" I asked.

"Well, my dad's job isn't the only reason we moved here. We also moved here because the people in L.A. tried to become my friend, just because of all the stuff I had," she said with a sad face.

"Oh Gabriella!" I said and hugged her. She buried her face into my chest, and I just held her. I noticed how perfect she fit against me.

Then she looked up and spoke, "I'm glad I moved here. I have friends that like me for me, like you," I smiled. "Oh, and I'm also going to decorate my key. Make it more like me. Personalize... Oops, I forgot to get to the point. I have no pictures on my walls because those people weren't my friends. They followed me. I had to lock all of the doors and windows."

I sighed, "That's good that you were safe. But, I feel like you've told me so much, and trust me," she nodded, "and I haven't told you anything. I'm gonna change that. I'm going to tell you my story."


	4. His Story

ch. 4 His story

(troy's p.o.v.)

We sat on her bed, facing each other. I took a deep breath. "So where should I start?... So, this is a touchy subject that I know you can relate to."

She nodded, "When I was six, my mom got diagnosed with cancer. At the time, I didn't know what it was. But, as usual, I spent a lot of time with her. She taught me every lesson I know, like on how to be when I grow up, and how to treat people, keep life balanced, and talk to people. I may have been six years old, but I listened and wrote down everything she said. I have it still to this day. It's actually hanging on my wall." I took a deep breath knowing the next part of the story. I felt Gabriella's hand on mine and I smiled lightly at her. "The next thing I knew was that she was gone. To say I was upset was an understatement. My dad said some comforting words though. They helped me get past my mope faze, and try to live out on what my mom had told me. You know, I have a little brother. He was only four years old when it happened, and I was seven. His name is Dylan. He's thirteen now, in eighth grade."

"When I turned fourteen, the summer before freshmen year, I met Chad and Zeke. In freshman year, we all met Sharpay and Taylor. We were all best friends, even if our labels were different. Then sophomore year, last year, Zeke and Chad finally got over themselves and asked them out. Nothing really changed since then. That pretty much brings me to here." I felt relieved to tell her. "Oh, and by the way, would you think that the nerd, two basketball players, a drama queen, and the brainiac would become best friends in the first place?"

She looked at me confused and asked, "You know, the day I moved here, yesterday, Sharpay told me about all of you, and said that you were the most genuine person she knew besides Zeke." She paused, then gave me a teasing look, "So which person are you?"

I smirked, "Well, that's the question. What's the difference between a nerd and a brainiac?"

She giggled and said, "Well a nerd is someone who typically only likes to learn, and not explore. A brainiac is someone who actually finds the interesting stuff and has the curiosity to explore."

My jaw dropped, "How do you know that?"

She raised her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Gabriella Anne Montez, East High's new brainiac." She grinned.

I answered her unanswered question. "I'm the brainiac," I admitted.

She smiled again and said, "I've gotten a GPA of 4.0, and got honor roll every year since sixth grade!"

I laughed, "Me too! And I'm on the basketball team with Chad and Zeke. Don't tell Taylor or Sharpay, or anyone else. They won't stop asking for help and stuff. I've been there. If you accidently help them, say you already did the problem or something."

"That's very good to know. I only told Sharpay that I liked to learn."

"Okay," I said, "What do you like to do? I noticed a piano by the stairs in that castle shaped room." Her eyes went wide. She looked at her hands, looked up, and smiled brightly at me. She squealed and ran out of her room leaving me. I followed her and saw her jumping like a kangaroo. She saw me and attacked me with a hug. "Whoa, what's going on?" I asked.

"I knew something was wrong when I moved here! I love to write, compose, and sing my own songs on the piano!"

My jaw dropped, "Really? You write your own songs? I do too! Are you working on anything now?"

She nodded, bit her lip, and pulled away from the hug, "I have the music. I just don't have the lyrics, or the mood yet."

"Maybe I can help," I offered.

"Okay! I'll play it for you!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the piano. She started playing. I traced over her hands as she played. At the chorus, all I could think of was, _When I Look At You_.

I was mesmerized. If only I could tell her how much she amazed me. She turned to me looking hopeful, "So what did you think?"

I smiled, "I love it! It's so unlike all of the other songs I have ever heard! It's better!" Did I just creep her out?

She questioned looking unsure, "Really? Even without the lyrics?"

I nodded, "Maybe I could help you figure it out. What kind of song do you want it to be?"

She answered, "I want it to be empowered with happiness. I want it to be a love song, but first you have to find inspiration, right?" She laughed skeptically. If only she knew that I was right in front of her!

(Gabriella's P.o.v)

I was curious, so I asked him, "So you write songs and play them? And sing them?"

He nodded, "So what kind of songs do you write? What instruments do you play?" I swear I saw him blush!

"I write songs about everything in general, like rap, and stuff. I play the guitar."

I smiled and replied, "Interesting. Can you rap one right now?"

He laughed, "I have the file of it on my phone."

I waited, "Well?"

He chuckled, "I didn't know you actually wanted me to play it." I giggled. He started playing it, then sang the lyrics. "**Johnny wanna be a big star, get on stage and play the guitar, make a little money, buy a fancy car, a big old house and an alligator. Just to match with them alligator shoes, he's a rich man, so he's no longer singin' the blues. He's singin' songs about material things and...**"He sighed and shrugged, "I don't like it. It's not me. I was watching a movie when this guy went from bottom to top, but he lost his passion."

I answered, "It's okay, but as you said, you don't have passion towards some random character. But, your voice is amazing!"

He smiled, "Thanks! I'll play you more songs later if you'd like."

I smiled and said, "And I'll show you some of my songs."

I heard a beep. It came from my phone. It was a text from Sharpay.

"Whatcha doin?"

"I'm hanging out with Troy. U?"

"OoOoO! I knew it! He totally likes you! ;D"

I rolled my eyes. "No he doesn't. We're just friends." Troy must've saw the text because he whispered, "Best friends," in my ear and smiled at me. I smiled back at him and repeated, "Best friends."

He left to go home. The next thing I knew, I got my schedule for my classes at East High in the mail.

"So what classes did you get?" Troy texted me.

"All AP classes. U?"

"Same! I, at least, wished I would have a friend in one of my classes. But now, I get to have my best friend in all of them! :D"

I smiled. I had a best friend. Yes, I've gotten closer to Sharpay, Taylor, Zeke, and Chad, but there is just something about Troy. He understands me. Tomorrow is my first day at East High and being a junior. I don't think I could be happier!


	5. Airplane Project

ch. 5 Airplane project

(Gabriella's p.o.v.)

I walked into my homeroom class and saw all of my friends. Troy waved me over. "Hey!" he said.

"So this is East High? Very sporty, white and red, I see." I laughed.

He replied, "Yup!"

Chad fist pumped, "Hey! We always win!" They are on the basketball team. Sharpay is the president of the Drama Club. Taylor is the president of the Scholastic Decathlon team, even though she is a nerd, and doesn't want to explore, like me and Troy, the brainiacs.

Honestly, school was boring. I already knew everything. California's standards were different from New Mexico. It was five minutes until school ended. My teacher is some crazy drama freak. I walked to my locker and a note fell out. It read: "Brie, there is a place I want to show you. Go to the cafeteria and go through a hidden door that says _Science Club_. Only me and the club know about it. I have something to tell you and ask you. See you in five minutes. ~ Troy."

I followed the directions on how to get there. He wasn't joking! There was a secret door! I opened it slowly to see a tiny hallway. At the end, there was a janitor's closet. In the middle of the hallway, there was what looked like a glass door that was open, and on the other side was a drain. They probably close the door when it rains. I went through the door and up some stairs. I saw a forest filled with flowers!

"Hello," a voice said behind me, but up a flight of stairs. I turned around to see Troy.

I giggled, "That hallway made me feel like Alice when she fell in that whole." I went upstairs and saw the outskirts of Albuquerque. "This place is beautiful! So how'd you find this place, if you're not in the club Mr.?" I asked, while poking him.

"Just like you said. Brainiacs love to explore," he said with a wink.

"So what did you want to ask me?" I asked. "Oh yeah, you want to be my partner for the multimedia project? We could go to my house and work on it?" He smiled hopefully. It was so cute when he did that!

I shrugged, "No. I wanted to do it alone."

His face dropped and he rubbed his neck, "Oh, that's fine. I just thought that..." I busted out laughing. "What?" He asked with an amused, but hurt face.

"I can't believe you just fell for that! Of course we can do the project together! I already had an idea for a song slash rap that we could do. I'll tell you at your house." He was blushing. We got into his car, since my dad dropped me off this morning, and drove to his house.

"I think I forgot to tell you this but," he started, " Since I was seven, you know, my uncle and his wife, with their twins, moved in with us. We have a relatively big house. The twins Zack and Cody, are the same age as Dylan, and are like brothers to me."

I nodded, "You didn't tell me, but that's pretty cool. I have one cousin on my dad's side, but we don't get along that well, an eight year gap. On my mom's side, there are three cousins and one step cousin. I talk to them even less than my other cousin."

He said, "Well, all families are different. I always heard that the oldest kid ruins it, and the younger one fixes it." I'm not so sure what that meant, but oh well. We arrived at his house.

He unlocked the door and we walked in. I saw a lady come through the kitchen. "Hey Aunt Sally, this is my friend Gabriella," Troy said.

"Oh my! You're so beautiful Gabriella!" She exclaimed.

"Thanks Sally." I said shyly.

"Well, me and Gabriella have a project to do so, we're gonna go." We said bye to her and went down the long hallway, which was the Roger family's part of the house. We went upstairs to the Bolton's part of the house. As Troy said, they had a big house. It's like two big town houses on top of each other, with no separation. We passed a room blasting music. Troy stopped and turned to the door, "Hold on," he opened the door and yelled, "Dylan! Turn it down!" The music went down and he came back shaking his head. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Dylan. You'll meet him, my dad, cousins, and uncle later."

We walked into his room. A picture caught my eye. I dropped my backpack and picked up the picture. "Is this you?"

His face turned red. "Yeah..."

"OMG! That is so cute!" I put on a confused face and said, "What happened?"

He grabbed the picture and said, "Hey! Nothing happened! I am still cute!" His face turned a darker shade of red, "Wait! That didn't come out right!"

I couldn't help but fall on the floor and laugh. His face was getting even darker, if that was possible. I wanted to laugh even harder, but it was time to end his misery.

"So what was your idea for the song?" Troy asked.

I answered, "Well, the other night, I was thinking about how, if my mom didn't die, I wouldn't have met you or Sharpay and everybody. Then I saw an airplane and well... I would wish that she was still alive and that I still came here. So I started writing a song with piano and guitar. I was hoping you could write a rap for it."

He looked at me, "Brie! That is an awesome idea! Let's hear the song. You know you still never sang for me," he said wiggling his eyebrows.

I asked him, "Do you have an Ipad?"

He answered, "Yeah, why?"

I replied, "I'm going to connect it to my phone to access my piano app and play my song. Duh!" I started playing the song.

I sang, "**Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now. Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now**."

I finished my part. "Then the next part is a rap. What I just sang basically goes in between raps."

"Brie, that was amazing! I have the perfect connection to this song. Play it." He cleared his throat and rapped.

"**Yeah, I could use a dream or a genie or a wish, to go back to a place much simpler than this, 'cause after all the partyin' and cashin' and crashin' and all the glitz and the glam and the fashion**..."

"That's all I could think of so far." I smiled widely at him, while he was writing what he just said. He looked up with a crooked smile and I hug attacked him. He laughed and said, "Brie, I'm not that good."

I pulled away, and said, "No! You're amazing! This song will be great! How did you just get those lyrics off of the top of your head?" I asked.

He replied, "Well I told you. I have the perfect connection with this song."

"Well, I better get home," I said kind of sad.

"You need a ride," he said more as a statement.

"Yeah, do you mind?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Not at all! Lettuce Leaf!" I giggled as he stood in a superman pose. In the car, we talked about the project. We arrived at my house. Troy got out of the car and opened my door for me. We walked to my door. "See you later." Before I could turn around, Troy kissed my cheek and said, "See you later."

I went inside and leaned on the door. He just kissed my cheek! Does that mean anything? Oh, it probably meant nothing. I hope it meant something, though. I really like him.

(troy's p.o.v.)

Oh no! I hope I didn't scare her. How could I be so stupid? She doesn't even know I like her. I'm gonna tell her. I just hope it doesn't ruin our friendship. In a week.


End file.
